


will i see you again?

by Hedylog



Category: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (Cartoon)
Genre: (but not a lot), 3+1 Things, Are-we-allies-or-what to lovers, Background Established Troy/Benson, Beetletoads, But this is definitely not a crackfic, Confessions, Dave is a smug bastard, Getting Together, Jamack Is Emotionally Constipated, Light Angst, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, POV Dave, Pining, Post-Season/Series 02, Some Humor, Some Plot, Yes I'm aware this is a rarepair, some unintentional season 03 canon compliance??? idk???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:06:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26737096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hedylog/pseuds/Hedylog
Summary: Three times Dave asked Jamack to join the pack, and one time he didn't have to.
Relationships: Jamack/Dave
Comments: 9
Kudos: 43





	1. whispers under the moonlight

**Author's Note:**

> I started shipping Dave x Jamack during my 3rd rewatch of Kipo, and I haven't known peace since then. I'm aware that at the time I'm posting it, this is the only fic about this ship on ao3, but please don't treat it as a crackfic because I'm very much invested in this weird chaotic ship.
> 
> 3/4th of this fic were written back in august, and when the trailer of s3 dropped I was finally motivated to go back to it and finish it because turns out some of my plot actually matches what is shown in the trailer?? Anyway, @ Rad Sechrist please hire me for the movies.
> 
> Fic and chapter titles are from the song "Whispers Under the Moonlight" by ALB, which sums up pretty well Dave's character in this work.

_ “- Oh, Jamack, I thought maybe you’d wanna come with us? _

_ \- Absolutely not. _

_ \- Good call.” _

-

It wasn’t the first night Dave lay awake thinking about that moment. Why? Oh, he should have wondered why, probably — never had so trivial a conversation haunted his mind in this way, and for this long —, but he kept telling himself, later Dave, for now you need to sleep. For now you need to start your day. For now you need to fight. For now you- aaargh what was the  _ matter _ with him?

“Just… go to sleep you idiot!” he mumbled, hitting his forehead with his arms.

“Is everything okay Dave?”

Benson was propping himself on his elbow, looking at him with sleepy eyes. Troy was curled up against him. He muttered something in his sleep and snuggled closer to his now-boyfriend.

“Yeah yeah, everything’s fine. Go back to sleep.

\- Oookay. Call me if you need anything.”

Benson went back to sleep, and Dave stayed awake, looking at the stars. Wondering if maybe, Jamack-

“Jamack!”

The frog was bent over him, looking at him with his everlasting smug air. Dave sprang on his feet.

"What are you doing here? And in the middle of the night?" he said.

"Shh. I thought you were all asleep, obviously I was wrong. But don't wake them all up.

\- Still doesn't explain why you’re here. You were watching us sleep? That's creepy man!"

Jamack's eyes widened.

"Of course I wasn't-”

He groaned when he noticed Dave’s cocky smile.

“You're insufferable,” said the frog while turning away from Dave and his sleeping friends.

“Thanks."

Jamack hopped on a bus wreck overlooking the pack’s campsite, and Dave climbed after him. For a moment, neither of them said anything, so Dave studied their surroundings. The campfire was crackling softly, the noise mixing with Benson’s snores. There was something peaceful about sitting there in the middle of the night, as if all the violence of this world they lived in had stopped for a few hours. Dave’s attention went back to Jamack. The frog seemed to be brooding. Dave  _ could have _ asked if everything was okay. He didn’t. It was Jamack, after all, and Jamack was never okay.

“So… how did it go with the otters?” said the bug eventually, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

\- It was nice, for a while,” Jamack answered without looking at him. “But then they started to get on my nerves. Being someone’s muse is not as pleasant as one would think.

\- Also they were nerds.”

Jamack laughed.

“Also they were nerds, yes.”

They sat in silence for a while, looking at the sky. Jamack had drawn his knees to his chest, and Dave was lying on the bus roof, head resting on his arms. From where he was, he could look at Jamack without the frog noticing. Not that it was useful or anything. Still, he found himself staring at his unlikely companion more than once.

Jamack seemed… troubled. More than usual at least. His arms were wound tightly around his legs and, now and again, he adjusted his tie — or at least what was left of it, he still hadn’t replaced it — in an abrupt manner. Dave finally decided to ask the burning question.

“You okay, Jamack?”

For a few seconds, it seemed like Jamack hadn’t heard him. Then, as Dave was about to repeat his question, the frog sighed.

“I don’t know. Now that this whole situation with Scarlemagne is over, I don’t know what to do. I mean, there’s no need to make sure the burrow girl doesn’t get captured anymore. And I  _ could _ get back to the Mod Frogs but… after all they did to me, I’m not sure my place is still with them, do you see?

\- Uh-uh.” Dave said, unsure of what would be a proper answer.

Jamack looked at him, and suddenly his irritable temper was back.

“Why am I even telling you all that, we’re not supposed to be allies!

\- Uh, yeah we are, you saved us multiple times.

\- Yes, to make sure the first time did not go to waste!

\- Sure, keep telling you that.”

Jamack groaned again and Dave smiled smugly. Suddenly, everything was silent again. Dave thought about Jamack’s confession for some time. Then-

“You know, about this whole ‘I don’t know where to go’ situation... maybe you could-

\- Don’t even think about it.

\- You don’t even know what I was going to say!

\- Yes, I do, you were about to say ‘oh Jamack, you could come with us!’, but the answer is still no. Now that I’m free to go wherever I want I won’t join another gang, especially one with  _ humans _ .

\- Yeah, no that’s fair.”

Dave had other arguments of course. The pack wouldn’t hinder his freedom. In these times, humans and mutes were starting to get along. They could use his help with the Dr. Emilia problem. He said nothing. Jamack had plenty of time to get used to the idea of joining them… or not. Maybe they would keep merely happening upon each other, never becoming proper friends, and that was okay.

Or was it?

“I should go,” said Jamack. “I still have a long trip ahead of me.

\- Where are you going?”

Jamack avoided his gaze.

“None of your business.

\- Fine, keep your mysterious act if you feel cooler that way then!” arms crossed and head high, Dave turned away from the frog. “I don’t care anyway.”

He was pretty sure Jamack muttered something along the lines of ‘of course you don’t’ as he was leaving. But then again, it was late in the night, he was probably mistaken. 

Once again, Jamack was going away who knows where, and Dave was left with this strange pain in his heart. He shouldn’t have cared that much about the well-being of a frog that tried to sell his friends — usually, Kipo was the forgiving one, and Dave was more of the type that held a grudge for as long as he could remember someone’s misdeeds. But even before Jamack became sort of an ally to them, there had been something different about him. Maybe it was Dave’s naturally good intuition with people that told him that  _ this frog _ was not as bad as the other Mod Frogs, or at least had the potential to become one of the good guys?  _ Whatever _ , he thought. It was too late to try and disentangle the strange relationship between Jamack and the pack. If the frog enjoyed complicating things, claiming that he still was their enemy when every single thing he did pointed to the contrary, then much good may it do him — but this insufferable batrachian in a suit was not worth Dave’s precious sleep. Just as he jumped from the bus roof, the sun emerging from behind the buildings around them blinded him. Wolf and Benson were awake in no time, yawning and stretching out and looking around drowsily.

“Jamaaack…” Dave groaned under his breath.

“Oh, hello Dave,” said Benson. “You’re already awake?”


	2. we knew there was something

“We could  _ really  _ appreciate the help of Super Dave right now!

\- I know Benson, I’m trying!”

As usual, the pack was in trouble. They had spent the last hour or so crawling in the vents of some huge building that was once an airport, these days the headquarters of the Humming Bombers. But now that they had reached the room they had been searching for, they were stuck, one tiny but sturdy grid away from their destination. And as much as he was trying to, Dave couldn’t turn into Super Dave. 

Wolf was exerting all her weight on the grid, but apart from the occasional creaking, there was no sign of it giving way anytime soon. She let out a curse and hit the grate with her fist.

“It’s useless! We’re stuck here.”

She spun round and pointed at Dave.

“Why can’t he molt? I thought he could control it now!

\- Hey! Don’t blame me, I don’t know what’s happening either!

He knew, actually, but would it help to tell them? Last night, he had lain awake yet another time thinking about a certain frog, and if he hadn’t known better, he would have thought that he started to have a  _ thing _ for Jamack. That was ridiculous, of course, Dave just happened to be drawn to mysteries, and Jamack’s actions were raising a lot of questions. Like where did he go last time they parted ways? What was he doing with his days when he wasn’t helping them? And how come they ran into each other so frequently? Questions that were keeping him awake at night, and without sleep he didn’t have enough energy to molt. Or was it that the questions were occupying his thoughts so much that he couldn’t concentrate on molting anymore? Maybe-

“Need help?”

All heads turned to the grid. A big green face crowned by big brown eyes was on the other side.

“Jamack!” they all said in unison.

“Yes, yes, it’s me, now be quiet or you’ll attract the birds.”

He wound his tongue around one of the bars and pulled, Wolf and Kipo pushing again on the other side. Finally, the screws came off and Kipo fell to the ground with a loud  _ ow, that hurt _ . The grid was out of the way. 

They all crawled out of the vents as Kipo was getting up and dusting her clothes. Jamack was standing upright a few meters away from them, his hands buried deep in his pockets.

“Hi Jamack!” said Kipo in an enthusiastic tone. “Thank you so much, we’re soo lucky you were there too!

\- Yeah, that’s a funny coincidence…” said Dave, squinting.

Jamack turned away from them.

“I just happened to be searching for explosive nectar at the same time as you were. As I expect you’re here for the same thing.”

Dave crossed his arms with a slight smile.

“Hmm-hmm, and what did you need the nectar for exactly?

\- Why does it matter to you? You should be thankful that I-”

Kipo landed a hand on both their shoulders and brought them close to her.

“Guys! Guys, stop fighting.” she said.

“We’re not-” Dave began.

“Oh, I’m so glad we’re all together again!” Kipo said in a high-pitched voice. “When was the last time, Jamack? Brunchington Beach right?”

Jamack and Dave exchanged a rapid glance before the frog nodded.

“How was it with the TheaOtters? Did you have fun?

\- It was… okay.” Jamack was still looking at Dave, confused. Had he expected Dave to tell the pack about their nightly conversation? “But I’m on my own again now, I missed my freedom.

\- Oh.” Kipo seemed sad all of a sudden, maybe because she knew that for Jamack ‘freedom’ meant ‘as far away from the pack as he could’. But a moment later, her usual cheerfulness was back. “Well then let’s go, to the nectar bombs!”

She led the pack away from the little room they had landed in and, taking blueprints out of Benson’s backpack, into a maze of corridors. Wolf was glued to her and making sure that she didn’t run into any Humming Bomber, Benson and Troy a meter or two behind them. Jamack was lagging behind. Dave pondered maybe two or three seconds before joining Jamack at the tail of their little gang.

“Who’s the new one?” Jamack asked after some silence.

“That’s Troy, Benson’s boyfriend. He’s from Kipo’s burrow.”

Upon hearing his name, Troy turned his head and waved at them. Dave waved back but Jamack only vaguely nodded.

“You know we’re your friends right?” Dave said. “You don’t have to keep your ‘I’m cold and professional’ act with us.”

Jamack laughed quietly.

“Then you have very bad taste in friends. Do I have to remind you that I was going to sell you all to Scarlemagne a month ago?

\- But you didn’t! And the past is the past, look at Wolf and Mandu: when they met, Wolf tried to eat her, but now they’re best friends!

\- Is Mandu the blue or the pink one?”

Before Dave could answer, Wolf was swinging her fighting stick at them and pushing them against the nearest wall.

“Quiet, you two!” she whispered aggressively.

A moment later, two hummingbirds were flying past them in a perpendicular corridor, chatting and laughing loudly. Dave froze. Wolf’s staff was crushing his neck, and this pressure added to the adrenaline was about to put the pack in danger.  _ Serious _ danger.

“I’m going to molt,” he managed to say.

“ _ Don’t molt _ ,” Wolf hissed, panic showing on her face.

The voices of the hummingbirds were fading. A few more seconds and…

With a tearing noise, Dave molted into Super Dave, his body flinging Wolf’s staff away. The metal rod bounced off the ground twice with loud clangs, and the corridor fell silent. For a few moments, not even their breathing could be heard, all of them holding air tightly in, afraid to make the tiniest noise. Then Dave exhaled, and the buzz of the birds’ wings resumed, its volume increasing rapidly. In no time, the pack was in battle formation, Jamack a little slower to find his place. When the hummingbirds appeared at the corner of the corridor, Wolf and Dave lunged at them screaming, but Kipo threw herself between them and the birds, her arms extended.

“Wait!” she shouted, loud enough to make everyone freeze. She smiled. “Thank you.”

She turned to the hummingbirds.

“We mean no harm to the Humming Bombers, I swear! We were just here to ask if we could borrow a bottle or two of your explosive nectar, to destroy one of Dr. Emilia’s outposts.

\- Ask? Then why did we catch you sneaking in like that!”

Kipo made a face.

“Well… it’s just… of all the mute gangs, yours is pretty much the only one that still doesn’t want anything to do with humans, so, we were not sure that- that you would give us the nectar if we asked.” 

She forced a smile and put her hands behind her back nervously.

“So you wanted to  _ steal _ our nectar! We were right not to trust you humans!” said one of the hummingbirds before throwing himself claws-first at Kipo.

Wolf jumped in front of Kipo and brandished her staff.

“Careful here, mute,” she threatened.

The bird retreated, hissing a curse.

“My point is,” Kipo started again, “we don’t have to fight each other! We have a common enemy here — who so happens to be a human, yes — and your nectar would  _ really  _ help to protect both mutes and humans from Dr. Emilia. So what do you say, are you with us?”

The two hummingbirds quickly glanced at each other.

“Nah, if there’s something to destroy we’ll do it ourselves. We definitely won’t help humans after they robbed us of a brilliant future in Aurum!”

Wolf turned to Kipo, who sighed and nodded. Wolf smiled, and threw herself at one of the birds, swinging her staff furiously. 

“Oh yeah, finally!” said Dave before lunging at the other one.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jamack freeze, taken aback by this quick development, then suddenly there was a tongue flinging Dave’s opponent at the wall and pinning him there. Dave grinned at Jamack before knocking the bird out cold in one punch. He turned to the frog.

“Hey, we make a pretty good team!” he said, still smiling.

Jamack was smiling back, and this unusual sight was making Dave  _ feel _ something deep in his spine — that’s where his heart was. The frog opened his mouth to answer, when they were interrupted once again.

“Uh, guys?” said Benson. “There’s no time, we have to go!”

The noises of their fight had attracted other Humming Bombers, and the corridors were buzzing now.

“Kipo! Where do we need to go now?” Wolf cried out, guarding the pack with her staff pointed towards the incoming birds.

“Uhh, uhhh, let me see…” Kipo studied the blueprints intently. Then she pointed at a corridor that looked just like any other. “This way, follow me!”

She started running, followed by the whole pack. They turned left, then right, then left again, then Dave lost count. Soon, they reached some sort of warehouse filled to the ceiling with crates of explosive nectar. Wolf had analyzed the room in a flash, and immediately she closed the steel gate behind them. There were windows opening right at the top of the walls, and through them Super Dave would be able to carry them out of the building.

“Oh, there’s so much explosives here!” Kipo said with excitement. “If we take a whole crate we’ll have enough nectar to blow up all of Dr. Emilia’s outposts, and even-

\- We are  _ not _ taking a whole crate,” Wolf interrupted. “Unless you want to blow  _ us  _ up on the way to HQ. No, we stick to the plan, take one bottle and then we leave.

\- Aw, Wolf you’re no fun.”

She complied, though, and as soon as she had the bottle Dave started flying them out of the room. First Kipo, to make sure the bottle was secure, then Mandu, Troy and Benson. As he was coming back to pick up Wolf and Jamack, the hummingbirds started pounding on the gate with their beaks.

“Ahah, they’ll never make it through,” laughed Dave. Then he shouted: “Bye dummies, we’re taking your bombs with us!”

There was a short silence. Then-

“They’re here!” cried out one of the birds. “Quick, go around the building!”

Wolf gave Dave a death stare.

“Good job, Dave.

\- Look, I didn’t know they would-

\- Uh,” Jamack interrupted, “not to rush you or anything, but we have to get out of here quick.”

Wolf grabbed Dave’s wrist, and the bug held out his hand to Jamack, who shook his head.

“No thank you, I’ll jump there.

\- There’s like twenty feet to the top, no way you’ll make it!

\- There’s no time for this, Jamack!” Wolf urged.

Jamack sighed.

“Fine.”

He took Dave’s hand and let the bug carry him out of the room. When they landed, there was a beat before he let go, but as he smoothed his suit it was Kipo’s turn to grab his arm and run with the pack, leading him away from the airport. Dave was flying a few meters behind them, watching their back in case the Humming Bombers caught up with them, but also carrying the nectar bottle, as he was the least likely to make it explode.  _ Please don’t blow up, please don’t blow up _ he was thinking anyway, hoping that their efforts wouldn’t go to waste. Fortunately, they reached the edge of the woods before the hummingbirds caught up, and Dave was able to fly slower, still holding the bottle with care. They made sure that they weren’t followed anymore, then stopped to get their breath back. They were still recovering from their escape when Kipo gasped loudly.

“Jamack!” she cried out. “Your bottle!

\- My wh- oh. Right, yes. I… forgot about it in the heat of the moment.”

Kipo seemed truly sorry.

“Do you want us to go back there?

\- What?!” Wolf cried out. “Kipo, don’t you realise how dangerous it would be, right after we stole from them?

\- But Jamack-

\- No, no, it’s okay,” Jamack said. “I’ll manage without it.

\- Sorry again Jamack...” Kipo said with a saddened smile.

Jamack smoothed his suit again.

“Well, now that you don’t need me anymore, I’d better get going. It was… nice seeing you, I guess.

\- Don’t you want to-

\- No, I  _ still  _ don’t want to come with you, Kipo. Stop asking.

\- You sure?” Dave intervened. “We could really use your help.”

Jamack turned to him and studied him. They had another one of those strange moments when they gazed right into the other’s eyes, just like when they parted ways at Brunchington Beach. There was something different about it, however, and until the last moment, Dave could have sworn that Jamack was going to accept.

“I’m sure.” Jamack finally said.

“Alright,” Dave answered, doing his best to maintain a detached expression. “See you around then.

A minute later, Jamack was gone. As the pack was making their way back to their headquarters, Dave was lagging behind. At some point, Benson slowed down and came near him.

“Jamack was totally not there to get explosive nectar, right?” the boy asked.

“Eheh yeah, he’s such a bad liar.

\- That’s curious… what was he there for, then?”

Dave shot him a confused look, but when he noticed Benson’s mischievous smile, he didn’t say anything. His mind went blank for a second, and the next moment it was full of Jamack’s words, Jamack’s smile, Jamack’s hand in his. His heart began to beat faster.

_ Oh no. _

He definitely had a thing for Jamack.


	3. i’m sick of waiting

It was five to twelve and the pack was hiding outside Dr. Emilia’s top secret lab, waiting for the right moment to move. A few minutes from now, a human squadron would leave the building to search for mutes to capture. That would be their cue. And as he was replaying their perilous plan in his head, Dave couldn’t help but think that it would have been so much less difficult to carry through with Jamack in the pack.

It had somehow become easier to sleep now that he knew exactly what was the feeling that had been keeping him awake all those nights. But was it easy to deal with that knowledge? Certainly not, especially when it had been more than two weeks since they last saw Jamack. In two weeks, Dave should have had time to come to terms with the fact that he had caught feelings for this stuck-up frog who used to be their enemy, but the warmth that he felt whenever he thought about him still amazed him every time. The former enemy part was the least surprising, actually, — Dave had always had a weakness for those enemies-to-lovers romances he used to read when Benson and he came across a library or a bookshop —, but he had always imagined that he would end up with someone as outgoing and fun as he was. And yet there he was, falling for the edgiest Mod Frog that ever existed. That was a curious way to reassess his own taste in men. 

“They’re leaving!” Wolf whispered suddenly. “Time to move!”

Dave pushed his introspection in the back of his mind. He would have all the time in the world to think about all of this after they completed their mission.

Kipo opened the door to the lab with a magnetic card they had managed to steal a few days ago, and they all hurried through. They had planned this rescue mission for more than a week, and they knew exactly how many people were in the building right now, and where the surveillance team was. They hid in a storage room close to the main entrance. In three, two, one… Three armed humans walked past without noticing them. The way was clear for another twenty minutes. The pack went the opposite way, towards the cells. Somewhere in this lab, Dr. Emilia was keeping mutes behind bars or thick glass walls, using them to test Song and Lio’s formula. Fortunately, the equations in the notebook she had stolen had been incomplete, so the chances of the formula already working were very thin — but Dave couldn’t help but fear that, when they reached the holding cells, the captured mutes would be back to their primitive animal state.

“Get your hands off me, I’ve had enough of these stupid needles!” a voice shouted, and immediately the fear vanished.

It came back in an instant, however, as Dave recognised the voice. He froze and glanced at the pack. They were all in the same state of shock. Wolf was the first to cast it off and, readying her fighting stick, she motioned at her friends to follow her. They all pressed themselves against the wall, waiting for Wolf to assess the situation in the room. Finally, she rushed in screaming, and at once the rest of the pack did the same. The two scientists in the room were completely stunned, and it was a matter of seconds before they were both knocked unconscious and tied up. They hadn’t even had time to close the door of the big glass box in the middle of the room, whence Jamack came out wide-eyed, his suit disheveled.

“Jamack!” Dave cried out, running up to him. “What are you doing here?

\- Having a nice chat and some tea with the people living here obviously,” he said sarcastically. But when he noticed that the whole pack had been tearing up- “Sorry. Thank you for saving me, I suppose.

\- Aww, come here you big idiot!”

Smiling widely, Dave wiped his tears and hugged him. The frog froze for a second before patting his back awkwardly. A moment later, everyone in the team was hugging him as well. He sighed.

“Alright, alright, I’m happy to see you too, but if we could get out of here before they throw us all in this box…”

The other testing rooms were locked, but the glass doors never resisted more than two or three blows of Wolf’s staff. At some point, they realised that the magnetic card could unlock both the doors of the rooms and the boxes, but Wolf still insisted on breaking them, so they let her. Soon, a dozen of mutes had joined their party, and they finally broke out the last one. Dr. Emilia, it appeared, had been abducting mutes of various species — taking samples, she would have surely said — so apart from a Mod Frog who knew Jamack, they were all strangers to each other. They were an odd group, fifteen mutes who usually would have never mixed and four humans thrown in the middle, but they made their way out of the building as a real team, watching each other’s back and helping the weakened ones keep up the pace. They all knew what was waiting for them outside the lab: at some point in their escape, they had crossed paths with the surveillance team, and before they could knock them out, one of them had managed to call for backup on a tiny electronic device.

As they were ransacking the last room, making sure that Dr. Emilia would have to rebuild the whole lab before being able to produce formulas again, Kipo let out a loud  _ uh-oh. _ She was looking at the feedback from the surveillance cameras, a big machine full of tiny screens.

“What?” asked Wolf. Kipo didn’t answer right away. “Kipo, what’s happening?”

The teenager turned to the group.

“I think… there might be slightly less backup than we anticipated.” She laughed nervously. “Well, when I say slightly less, actually I mean none.”

Wolf let out a curse.

“What’s going on?” said one of the rescued mutes, a young Timbercat. “That’s… that’s a good thing right?

“Well,” replied Benson, “the main goal of this mission was to save you all of course, but we were also hoping that it would pressure Dr. Emilia to come out of hiding. That way we could have stopped her altogether.

\- But now…” Wolf muttered. “Now she can start her experiments again whenever she wants, and next time we raid her lab she’ll be ready. Things are even worse than before!”

Kipo put a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, don’t say that. We saved all these mutes, and it will take her, what? A whole month to rebuild the lab! That’s way enough time to come up with a new plan!”

The closest mutes agreed with Kipo, but most of them had stopped listening when they had heard that there wouldn’t be any more humans to fight.

“Hey!” called a Scooter Skunk. “When do we get out of here?”

Kipo smiled.

\- Right now!”

She used Wolf’s staff to smash the screens of the control panel, and they were on their way. When they finally exited the building, some of the mutes ran back to their gangs immediately, and some stayed a moment to thank the pack again. Jamack was slightly set back and seemed unsure of what to do. Dave walked up to him.

“Hey, you wanna stay with us for a bit? Until you recover from whatever they put you through in there, I mean. It’s probably best if you-

\- Yes. If you must know the truth, I won’t last five minutes alone, I haven’t eaten in two days.”

Dave would have never expected him to accept so easily. Could he dream again of Jamack joining the pack one day? He turned to his friends, who were waving goodbye at the last mute they had met today.

"Guys! Jamack's staying with us!

\- Only for a day," rectified Jamack when the pack cheered. "As soon as I feel better, I'll be on my way again."

Benson wound his arms around Jamack's shoulders and led him after Kipo, Wolf and Troy.

"Well, until then we can all have fun together!" he said to the frog. "I'm sure Dave will be very happy to show you our special cannonball dive when we get to the lake-"

Stealthily, the boy winked at Dave. If the bug could have blushed, he would have turned the brightest red, but since he couldn't, he only laughed and caught up with Benson and Jamack. The next day promised to be very interesting.

An hour later, the sun was setting and the pack had set up camp on the shore of a peaceful lake. Kipo, Benson and Troy were already playing in the water, while Wolf was building a fire with the twigs that Dave had gathered. At some point, Jamack had climbed a rock and was sitting about twenty meters away from the group, looking pensively at the surface of the lake.

"Wolf?" Dave said. "Think you can manage on your own for a bit?"

She looked up from the campfire, and her eyes went from Dave to Jamack, then Dave again.

"Oh, sure." She smiled. "Go to him."

On his way to the lonesome rock, Dave grabbed a bottle from Benson's backpack.

"You want me to leave you alone?" he asked when he reached Jamack's side.

The frog sized him up from head to toe.

"Oh, no, you can stay."

As Dave was sitting down, Jamack looked away again. They said nothing for a few seconds, then Dave held the bottle out to the frog. It was filled with a thick, dark liquid.

"Prune juice? For your emotional constipation."

Jamack's head spun round, his eyes wide.

"I-" he began, offended, but couldn't complete his sentence.

Dave burst into laughter, and eventually, Jamack smiled.

"Oh, your face! But really though, you need to work on this whole emotion thing. You're seriously lacking in that department."

Jamack was serious again, suddenly. He even seemed… sad?

"Do you really believe that I don't have emotions?" he asked.

"What? Of course not, I'm just saying-

\- I got good at hiding them, when I was with the Mod Frogs. In this word, being emotional won't get you anywhere, I thought. And yet here you all are, making friends with Megas, taking down tyrants, bringing humans and mutes together. Thats, that's… that's infuriating!

\- What do you mean, infuriating?" Dave asked, confused.

Jamack was frantic.

"I spent all this time thinking the only way to get somewhere in life was to bring others down, and I felt like a fraud whenever I felt bad about it! And now you're showing me that things could have been different, and I… and I feel like I've wasted my life up until now!"

Dave was silent for a moment, studying Jamack.

"Why don't you join the pack then?" he asked eventually, in a sympathetic tone that he rarely used.

"Because…" he sighed and looked at his shoes. "I don't deserve you all. I tried to sell you and, and I'm always negative, I'd bring your mood down all the time. I don't want you to feel as miserable as I do.

\- Well, we manage to make  _ Wolf _ laugh on a daily basis now, so I think the pack will be fine with you!"

Jamack's eyes widened in surprise and hope, but the next moment he seemed distant again.

"I've made my choice. You deserve better than me.

\- Jamack...

\- Let's talk about something else, okay?"

Dave hesitated, then nodded. They started talking about Benson and Troy's relationship and, a minute later, the mood of their conversation had completely changed. At some point, Kipo called them over, and they all ate together around the campfire.

That night, for the first time — and not the last, he hoped — Dave slept next to Jamack. Now that he had actually had the time to talk with the frog about staying in the pack, he was even more at a loss than before. Was there the slightest chance that he reciprocated his feelings, if he was so categorical about not joining the pack? And yet… that evening he had opened up to him like he had clearly never done before with anyone. But why couldn't he see that the pack could make him feel better, and in turn that he made  _ Dave _ feel better? The next evening Jamack wouldn't be there anymore, and Dave would have to keep his feelings bottled up for maybe another two weeks. And who knows how many times, during these two weeks, he would regret not telling Jamack how much he loved his company, and how much good he saw in him.

As he was going to sleep, he made a choice: before Jamack left, he would tell him everything.


	4. just like no one else

Jamack didn’t leave the pack the following day, nor the day after that. He was already feeling better of course — and everyone knew, but no one dared to comment. Jamack wasn’t leaving, and as much as it delighted Dave, his resolution to tell the frog about his feelings weakened with every day that went by.  _ What’s the point _ , he asked himself after every missed opportunity,  _ he’s staying so there’s no need to tell him now _ . But deep down, he knew there was another reason that was not motivated by laziness, but fear. What if confessing made Jamack go away? What if it disgusted him — after all they were a frog and a bug —, what if he never wanted to see him again? Oh, there was  _ something _ between them: Jamack kept confiding in Dave in a way he never did with the rest of the pack, and earlier that day the frog had admitted that he was the person he trusted the most. But what if he merely saw him as some sort of... brother? That would make sense, more sense than him being in love with a stupid bug whom he had nothing in common with.

As much as Jamack had feared that he would never truly fit in the pack, he was already going soft, everyone could sense it. But there was something weird about his behaviour, as if he wasn’t sure about how he wanted to act around them. One moment he could shyly give thank you gifts to everyone, and an hour later he would go back to his edgy, abrupt self. It made it all the more difficult to know how to talk to him, especially for Dave that somehow had begun to  _ think _ before talking. One time when the frog had left their camp to search for firewood, Dave had jokingly said to Benson that Jamack was changing so much he could barely recognise him. “You’re one to talk,” had answered the boy, but when Dave pressed him to clarify, Benson only smiled.

Dave understood later that night, as he was lost in thoughts once more, that what his friend had meant by that was that he was going soft as well. Since Jamack had sort-of-joined them, Dave did chores more often, occasionally made sure that his friends were okay, he even made sure his jokes wouldn’t hurt anyone. A Mod Frog without morals was making him a better person. He smiled to himself. Maybe, just maybe, Jamack would see it as well. Maybe they could work as a couple. He closed his eyes, comforted by this last thought. The whole pack was already sleeping, now it was his turn to-

An arm shaking him by the shoulder woke him up a second later. He tried to jump on his feet, but Jamack was crouched beside him and his head bumped against Dave’s.

“Ow!” said Dave, two hands on his forehead. “Jamack, what the h-

\- Shhh. I have to talk to you. Alone.”

Dave looked at the others, they were still sleeping soundly. He turned to Jamack and nodded. The frog gestured at him to follow him and climbed on the trunk of a fallen tree, on the edge of a river not far from the camp. They looked at the swirling water under their feet for some time, Jamack seemingly lost in thought. Dave was simultaneously filled with nervousness from wondering what it was that Jamack would tell him, and a great sense of peace. Apart from the occasional rumble of a passing Mega and the lapping of water, they were enveloped in comforting silence.

“I think I’m going to leave tonight,” Jamack finally said.

Dave nearly fell off the trunk.

“You  _ what _ ?”

Jamack didn’t answer. He was staring at the water, his expression inscrutable. Then suddenly, he burst into tears. The sight was so sudden, so unusual, and Dave froze for a moment, unsure of what to do. Eventually, he went with awkwardly patting Jamack’s back. The frog’s shoulders were shaking and he was hiding his face in his hands, his sobs loud and worrisome.

After a minute, Jamack looked at him, sniffling.

“I- I-” he uttered.

Then he started crying again. At this point, Dave was  _ really  _ worried.

“You… you okay Jamack?”

Jamack nodded. A few moments later, he threw his head back and sniffled again, then took a deep breath. He was calm again.

“Yes, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.

\- Well you did!” there was urgency in Dave’s voice. “Jamack, what’s wrong? And what’s that talk about leaving?”

“It’s just that…” he paused to sniffle again. “I’ve made a decision. I’ve stayed with you all for too long now, it’s only fair that I should leave now.”

Dave turned to face him and looked right into his eyes, resolute.

“So you tell me that you’re about to leave, then you start crying. Then you say that you’re leaving because it’s  _ fair _ , and I’m supposed to believe you’re wanting this? Jamack, I’m not going to pretend I know you that well, but I’m pretty sure you don’t actually want to leave, is that right?”

Jamack sighed.

“Maybe. But what other choice do I have? I can’t stay with the pack… I can’t stay with  _ you _ .

\- Why? We already told you-

\- Because I’m going too soft, Dave, and I’m scared! One day you won’t want me around anymore, and then I’ll have to survive alone again, and I’ll probably die because I won’t know how to be on my own anymore!”

Dave paused before answering. He stared at Jamack, genuinely confused. The frog was frantic, wringing his hands, his eyes darting between Dave and the water at their feet.

\- Wait. Jamack you… you know we wouldn’t abandon you right? We’re not like that. I mean, Wolf has probably abandoned tons of people, and I don’t know enough about Troy to be sure about his stance on all that, but Benson and Kipo would fight tooth and nail for you.” He paused. “And I would too.”

Jamack looked away, and his expression softened for a second, with the shadow of a smile spreading on his lips. He opened his mouth, then closed it without saying anything, as if he was hesitant about something.

“I’m still scared, though. Not about you abandoning me but…”

There was suddenly a tension between them. Dave was pretty sure that he knew what this hesitation was about, and his mind went blank, all the words he had prepared for this moment vanishing in a second. Jamack stared right into his eyes.

“I’m going soft,” he repeated.

Dave scanned the frog’s gaze. It was expectant, full of hope and fear at the same time. His eyes were still red from his outburst of tears, and they glinted in the moonlight. At some point, Dave realised he had to give an answer.

“Oh. You mean…

\- Yes.”

They stared at each other for a second, without saying anything. The tension was becoming too much and, as was his habit, Dave felt the need to act relaxed. He ignored as well as he could his heart pounding in his spine.

\- Phew, that’s a weight off!” He exclaimed. “I was worried you didn’t care, or something.”

Dave burst in nervous laughter. That was it then, it had been that easy. Jamack had said… Suddenly, Dave’s breath hitched. Wait.  _ What _ had the frog wanted to say, precisely?

“Uh, just so we’re clear Jamack, what we’re talking about here is…

\- I’m in love with you, Dave.

Dave’s eyes widened and, for the second time this night, his brain short-circuited. ‘Oh’ was all that he managed to say before staring at Jamack, gaping.

There was another beat of silence, and eventually Jamack got nervous.

“I mean… Oh no, it probably isn’t love, not yet at least... Er what I want to say is… Arghh I’m sorry I-”

Dave was overcome by a wave of pure affection for this once cocky frog who had somehow turned into an awkward, emotional version of himself in the course of a month. The bug laid a comforting hand on Jamack’s arm and smiled.

“Calm down Jamack. I’m sort-of-in-love with you too. Well, I definitely have a thing for you, at least.”

Jamack looked at him with his wide eyes and crooked tie.

“Oh.”

Dave laughed again, and hearing himself, he realised how far he had come as well during the last month. There was emotion in this laugh, there was relief, also, and most importantly, there was no trace of the mockery that used to taint every interaction he had with Jamack.

“Yes,  _ oh _ . Well, I’m glad this is out of the way.

\- Now what?”

Dave’s smile vanished as he realised that never, not a single time, he had thought about what would happen  _ after _ he confessed.

“I… I don’t know, to be honest. Do you still want to leave?

\- Of course not! But do you want to hide…  _ this _ from the others?”

Dave took some time to think about it. There was still some part of him that felt weird about the thought of  _ dating _ Jamack, and it didn’t help that things had moved so quickly in the past days. But he knew that there was no need to hide anything from the rest of the pack. Things would surely be awkward in the first couple of days, but he could trust his friends to not make them  _ uncomfortable _ .

“Well, actually they all know about my thing for you, and Benson was kinda trying to get us together and… what I mean is that they definitely won’t mind about… us. Wow, we’re really having this conversation, are we?”

He stopped, breathless. Jamack smiled.

“A frog and a bug. If I had known.”

Dave laughed. The realisation of what had just happened was finally dawning on him, and he was getting ecstatic.

“Yeah, being in Kipo’s pack will do that to you.”

When they came back to the campfire, or rather the cold ashes that remained in its place, the sky was already brightening. The rest of the pack was still sleeping, but they would wake up anytime now.

“Oh, I forgot!” whispered Dave excitedly. “I have something for you.”

He ran to Benson’s backpack and rummaged through it. After a moment, he took a folded piece of cloth out of it. He went back to Jamack and unfolded it. It was a tie, black, brand new.

“Welcome to the pack, Jamack.”

Jamack’s eyes darted from the tie to Dave, then back to the tie. He teared up and carefully took it.

“I… I don’t know what to say.

\- Then just wear it! This old stump is fraying anyway.”

Jamack finally took off his old tie, and he was smiling as he tied the new one. 

A new life was beginning for him, for them all. When Wolf woke up, the first to do so as always, she saw them both standing there, and when her eyes fell to Jamack’s tie she smiled as well. Oh, things wouldn’t become easy now that the frog had joined them, but they would be easier for Dave now that he didn’t have to spend his nights wondering about Jamack’s feelings. They would be easier for Jamack, certainly, who wouldn’t have to survive alone anymore. And Wolf would appreciate the help of a second functional fighter in their team, especially for their next missions against Dr. Emilia. Benson would probably love spending his time teasing the new couple, and Troy would join in of course. And Kipo, well, she would be glad of how far her first advice to Jamack got him. 

A frog and a bug. By far, this wasn’t the weirdest thing about their pack. Jamack would fit in just fine. 


End file.
